El Torico de la Cuerda
General Info
Year: 2002 / 2006
Duration: c. 4:55
Difficulty: III+ (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Robert Martin
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $85.21 | Score Only (print) - $22.44
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone I-II
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium I-II
Tuba
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Sleigh Bells
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Triangle
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Although not a descriptive piece, but a mere concert pasodoble with bullfight sonorities, behind the sounds of El Torico de la Cuerda we can find many of the experiences and feelings that the composer feels to this popular and colorful festival that takes place every August in Chiva, his hometown.
The piece opens with a brilliant trumpet solo which is followed, in pasodoble tempo, by a rhythmic and temperamental theme, in C minor, and a trio in E-flat major, elegant and sweet in which different timbres of the band are appearing in a subtle and ordered manner. The most remarkable aspect of this trio is the initial solo for three piccolos that acts as a counterpoint to the main melody. Finally, unlike most pasodobles, the second theme hasn’t recapitulation. Instead of this the first theme reappears brilliantly combined with the initial scale of the second theme, as counterpoint, in medium register.
This piece, one of the most popular pages from the composer, has been performed in a lot of countries like Portugal, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Colombia, USA, Argentina, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, among others.
- Program Note from publisher
El Torico de la Cuerda is a time-honored festival held every August in Chiva, Spain. Part bullfight, part street festival, it honors the heritage of this historic town and its citizens.
-Program Note extracted from Asociación Peña Taurina
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, N.C.) Wind Ensemble (Margaret Underwood, conductor) - 5 October 2022
- Kansas Wesleyan University (Salina) Wind Ensemble (Carl Rowles, conductor) – 27 March 2019
- Triangle Wind Ensemble (Juan José Navarro, conductor) – 14 April 2018
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Angelita (2012/2014)
- Cello Concerto (2021)
- Charlie, the Chameleon (2013), from Bestiarium
- Concertango (2004)
- Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble (2018)
- De Tiempo y Quimera (2005)
- Duende (2010)
- El Torico de la Cuerda (2002/2006)
- Enric Cullell (2014)
- Invocación (2017)
- La Dama Centinela (2009)
- La Lira de Pozuelo (2010)
- Marco Polo Trilogy
- Marco Polo: El Libro de la India (2013)
- Marco Polo: The Cathay Years (2010)
- Marco Polo: La Ruta de la Seda (2006)
- Memorias de un Hombre de Ciudad (2003)
- Pas de Quatre (2019)
- Pequeña Suite para Banda (2008)
- Preludio y Danza del Alba (2006)
- Second Symphony (2017)
- Spanish Dances (2021)
- Symphony for Wind Orchestra (2012)
- Three Sketches for Wind Ensemble (2014)
- Tim (2018)
- Tramonto (2007)
- The Unknown Friend (2021)
Resources
- Alarcón Music website Accessed 29 March 2019
- El Torico de la Cuerda de Chiva." Asociación Peña Taurina. Web Accessed 29 March 2019
- Serrano Alarcón, L. (2006). El torico de la cuerda [score]. Piles: Valencia.